On Media

Gay couple who own Jeb site: It's an opportunity

By HADAS GOLD

02/09/2015 10:28 PM EST

On Tuesday, Jeb Bush is planning to launch a website that will contain the emails from his two terms as governor of Florida as well as the first chapter of his forthcoming e-book about his administration. But the site's domain won't be JebBushForPresident.com.

A self-described “gay bear” couple, CJ Phillips and Charlie Rainwater of Portland, Oregon, purchased the domain JebBushForPresident.com in 2008 while living in Texas together and don’t plan on letting go anytime soon.

The couple, who have been together since 1996, bought the site on a whim when Bush was being mentioned as a possible 2012 contender after President Barack Obama was elected and they heard some of Bush's "harsh viewpoints" on gay rights.

Now that a Bush candidacy is in the works, they plan to expand the site beyond the LGBTQ community to help educate others about inequities facing women, racial and religious minorities.

“We want to carry out our original intention. It’s an opportunity to educate people what the realities are,” Phillips said in an interview ahead of an appearance on MSNBC’s "Rachel Maddow Show." “Our real goal is to give people an opportunity to actually come through the Internet and meet a real-life gay people and learn how things … are affecting us. That’s how we want to carry on.”

Phillips and Rainwater said they have not been approached by anyone in the Bush camp about the site.

“Frankly, what we would like to do is sit down and talk for Jeb Bush for about an hour privately. I’d like to know what makes the man tick and for him to understand where we’re coming from. And then we’ll see where it goes from there,” Rainwater said.

The couple said the site has exploded in popularity in the past few weeks, but that their only plans for expansion include a possible podcast or creating an online community for discussion.

“We don’t want this to be a bash Jeb Bush site. If you want to bash Bush go to JebBushforPresident.net they bash him hard, they do it plenty — we don’t need to chime in. We have honestly always wanted this to be an opportunity for people to learn about things we’re facing,” Phillips said.

A spokesperson for Bush did not immediately respond to a request for comment.